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The Baltimore Orioles are well out of the American League playoff picture. They got off to a dreadful start, and even a decent last month hasn't put them in contention. That should be selling at the trade deadline, even if core pieces like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are not available. ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Orioles are likely to deal starter Charlie Morton at the MLB trade deadline.
“It seems very likely that Charlie Morton (3.47 ERA last 12 appearances) will be traded, within a relatively thin starting pitching market and a lot of teams looking for help — the Padres, Yankees, maybe the Mets or Astros; a number of teams have expressed interest,” Olney reported. New York Post insider Jon Heyman later reported widespread interest in Morton as well.
Morton signed a one-year deal with the Orioles for his 18th season with his sixth different organization. His run with the Braves was excellent, but his start with Baltimore was dreadful. He had a 9.38 ERA in his first nine starts, and the team was 0-9 in those games. But since, he has a 3.47 ERA in 12 appearances with a 5-0 record.
Any team that trades for Morton must believe those first nine games are ancient history. The Orioles were dreadful to start the season, and Morton was not getting any help from anywhere. His lengthy track record should be enough to outweigh nine bad starts to start this season.
The Yankees could be in on the veteran to help with their injured pitching staff. They recently made a trade with the Orioles, sending catcher Alex Jackson to Baltimore for a player to be named later. While Morton is unlikely to be that player, could they work something out for the veteran during those discussions?
The Padres have Dylan Cease and Michael King on expiring deals. They could use extra pitching depth, but would they make this move over picking up an outfielder? There are a lot of questions ahead of the MLB trade deadline, and Charlie Morton is going to be in the middle of them.
